Dylan gives us ‘Tell Tale Signs’ of continued success
by Edna Gunderson on Oct. 16, 2008, under Calendar
“Tell Tale Signs” (Sony BMG)
Less a time capsule of vault remnants than a fresh summation of Bob Dylan’s modern times, “Tell Tale Signs” reveals the 67-year-old legend at the peak of his powers, ruminating on lost love, pondering mortality and trying to make sense of a broken society.
The eighth installment of Dylan’s “Bootleg Series” is a rich cache of unreleased studio recordings, demos, alternate takes, live tracks and rarities spanning 1989 to 2006, the renaissance era that yielded “Time Out of Mind,” “Love and Theft,” “Modern Times” and “Oh Mercy.”
The collection, available as a 27-song two-CD set or a lavish three-disc deluxe version with a 150-page hardcover book detailing his singles artwork, opens a fascinating peephole into Dylan’s sonic sanctum. “Signs “brims with pearls: the beguiling “Red River Shore,” epic “‘Cross the Green Mountain,” live “High Water,” “Dreamin’ of You,” piano demo “Dignity.”
Dylan’s attachment to America’s musical roots are evident throughout, from “32-20 Blues “(his first release of a Robert Johnson cover) to a Ralph Stanley duet. But this is no museum archive. It’s another side of a master songwriter and spellbinding performer.
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Bob Dylan
“Tell Tale Signs” (Sony BMG)
Genre: rock Grade: A
